Re-Post (and Follow-Up): Resolutions for Writers

I've been digging through my archives. I'd forgotten what all was in there. Some really good links fell through the cracks, and some pivotal moments in my writing journey never got resolved (on the blog anyway). So. What I want to do is put up an old (but useful) post, and then write about what happened next (or some other current, relevant info.)

First Re-Post:
New Year Resolutions for Writers
Original Link:
http://emilycaseysmusings.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-year-resolutions-for-writers.html

We're all determined to write THE book this year. THIS will be the one. (And I genuinely hope it is, for all of us!)

So this post is for all of you who need a little motivation or help setting goals.

Here are 7 Weekly tasks for Authors that I think is excellent ground work for setting your own personal goals.

And here's a post by author Devon Monk called Why I Write. It's more of a reflective piece, but I found it to be motivating.

And finally, QueryTracker.net posted Setting, Keeping, and Achieving Your Writing Goals in the New Year. A few basics, with the writer in mind :)

 

My goals for this next year:

 

--edit Shadow Bound for the 569th time

 

--Get a clean, polished copy of Song of the Muse out on submission

 

--Write a book that is better than all my previous work

 

--Read at least 5 books that I can learn from as a writer (and love as a reader)

  

What about you?

Okay, so I didn't quite meet all of those goals. What really happened that year?

• I took Shadow Bound through How to Revise Your Novel. It took me a few months, but I went from 3 partial requests to six partial requests and 2 full requests (and counting). The book is infinitely better. (I'll show you the opening scene later)
• I read 10 books that helped me as a writer and entertained me as a reader (Maybe more. I lost count.)
• I ran my first half marathon
• I had my second child
• I went to my first writers' conference ever (a wonderful experience that I plan to repeat this year)
• I started my Ivy posts, which inspired my current WIP
• I wrote the first 12,500 words of my WIP

Not bad. I had no idea until just now how much I'd accomplished in 2010. I actually thought I'd bummed out because of my pregnancy.
So there you have it: an excellent reason to keep a journal, a blog, and/or a writing diary.